Tartarus Spews The Past
by Frodo of the athena cabin
Summary: Percy Jackson add on. Frodo is and average boy, but when his friend takes him on the run, he finds out secrets about himself, including that he is a Demi-God. But when he's thrown into a prophesy that reveals a frightening truth about whats been going on in Tartarus, will he be able to succeed with his new friends?
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys so im totally new to this and id love feedback! This is just the Intro but ill update as soon as i can. I down own PJO but i love it so im starting this. Let me know what you think and i hope you enjoy!**

* * *

"Dammit Stemmings, move!" I shouted as my satyr friend froze in fear once again. I was just able to shove him out of the way as the hydra shot fire at him. Ya that's right, I said satyr and hydra. No, FYI I'm not crazy. I don't think so at least. I've been running for a week now, and this is the second monster we've seen. I ran, dragging the shaken satyr behind me and dodged through the thick trees. The hydra however, was having trouble, and was shooting flames and roaring at us. Finally, we lost it and it gave up the chase.

"I'm sorry!" pleaded Stemmings "I thought it was out of range! I'm sorry!"

"It's fine" I told him "we're OK and that's what matters." Then I collapsed on the soft forest floor to catch my breath.

Sorry, I didn't introduce myself. I'm Frodo. Ya, i know what you're thinking. "What kind of name is Frodo?" Well its not my real name, it's my initials. Fin Rodd Odysseus Daedalus Oakley. That's what you get when your dad is obsessed with the Lord of the Rings and Greek Mythology. But I like it. It makes me feel different in a good way. Not the kind of different my ADHD and OCD make me feel. Anyways, my dad died three years ago so now I go by the name he secretly gave me. Frodo.

So now you're probably thinking "well great, thats cool and all, but what's up with the satyr and hydra?" Well I only know what they are cause I share my father's love for mythology. This all started a week ago. I was at school with Eric Stemmings, my closest friend at East Side Community High, who now I know is a satyr. We were just leaving school when I noticed a cat following us. It was huge, but I didn't really notice anything unusual about it. That is, until Stemmings started sniffing. Ya, sniffing. Like a dog. He stopped and turned. "Oh no" he whispered.

"What?" i asked

"A sphinx"

"What? That's just a cat."

"Look at it Frodo. Look at it really hard."

Somehow, the cat looked bigger. It was the size of a cougar and looked like a lion. What was the worst part, it had the face of a woman. "S-s-sphinx" I didn't even hesitate. I grabbed Stemmings and ran. We ran for what seemed like two hours until we collapsed in an alley. "What the heck just happened!? Did you see the sphinx?"

"Ya. You're not crazy. But you gotta trust me now. There will be more monsters. We need to go somewhere safe. Everything will be explained when we get there. Just trust me on this."

There was something in the way he said it that made me believe him. So we ran


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey so i thought youd want to know a bit of background so im going to do that here and in the next chapter. anyways i hope you like it!**

* * *

"Frodo wake up" Stemmings whispered in my ear "We have to move"

"What's going on?" I asked, rubbing my eyes with the heels of my palms.

"I smell something"

At this, adrenaline shot through me. I was used to this sensation as it had become all too familiar to me in the past week. I rolled to a crouch and quickly got my bearings. The sun was barely peeking over the horizon; the warm summer air sending a welcome breeze through my short hair. Stemmings was shifting from one foot to another nervously. "Let's go." I said, and we took off at a jog. After a week of constant running, my legs burned with the welcome birth of new muscles. I was able to jog for hours and sprint for ten minutes at a time before needing a break. It's something that I've become extremely proud of. On top of that, as a young boy, I was so intrigued with Greek Mythology, that I begged my dad to let me take sword fighting lessons. It was difficult to find a teacher at first, but then my father's hobbit crazed friends got him in touch with one of their friends who offered to teach me. I was ten when I started. Six years later, I considered myself able to use a sword.

It was the first thing I went to grab when I went home and explained to my dad that we had to leave. He didn't seem fazed. Obviously worried, but frighteningly calm. I grabbed my sword, but Stemmings told me it would be of no help because it was too dull and wouldn't affect the monsters. Of course! Only Styngian iron or Celestial bronze could kill them. That and along with a choice few weapon variants. I left it and grabbed a few changes of clothes, some cash, and a few granola bars and ran with Stemmings after hugging my dad. I was still trying to get it through my head that my friend was a satyr who was going to take me to a safe place because I'm a demi-god. But excitement over powering my skepticism allowed me to go along with it till I could think about it at a later time when I'd be safe.

"How much further?" I asked as we jogged on the outskirts of civilization.

"A little bit more" Stemmings panted "Then we can catch a cab."

I let that bounce around in my head for a bit before saying "What's gonna happen then?"

Stemmings only smiled and said with a quick wink "Just you wait. I don't want to spoil the surprise."

* * *

**By the way guys id love feedback and suggestions. Stay frosty guys!**

**-Frodo**


	3. The Payout

**Well look at me posting every day :P haha well heres's another chapter. Now comes the interesting part! hope you like it!**

* * *

I paid the taxi driver the cash and closed the door. "You need to work on your payout Stemmings" i said as the taxi drove away "you got a huge build up, and a teeny tiny payout. This is my surprise?"

"Oh you're so funny Frodo. We hike the rest of the way."

Cursing under my breath, I grabbed my things and began to follow Stemmings. I must have zoned out as we walked because it was no time before he stopped and smiled. "Frodo, welcome to camp half-blood." He seemed so refreshed at this sight that i had to run to keep up with him as he leprechaun jumped up a hill.

"Again, you really gotta work on your payo-" then I crested the hill. Below me, was a huge camp. Teens running around, rock climbing,_ IS THAT LAVA!?_, doing archery, sword fighting, _WAIT WHAT!? SWORDS!_, there was a huge fire pit, a chariot race track, and cabins. Lots of them. "I take that back stemmings. wow!"

"It gets better. C'mon!"

With renewed energy, we ran down the hill and to a huge lodge overlooking the camp. Once there, Stemmings dragged me inside. "Chiron!" he said "I'm back with another demigod!"

"Hey thats funny" I laughed "In mythology there was a centaur named Chiron that trained the-" I nearly fainted as a centaur walked into the room. "You're Ch-Ch-"

"Chiron my friend. And yes, you are correct. I am the one that trained the heroes."

I opened my mouth as to say something, then closed it cause I was speechless.

Chiron let out a chuckle "Eric would you please go find Nico? I do believe it is his turn to give the tour."

Stemmings instantly ran off to look for "Nico"

"Welcome" said Chiron "This is camp half-blood. A safe haven for demigods like you. Do you know what that means?"

"It means that I have a Godly mother..." I said in shock "And that youre gonna train me to fight monsters!" I added in sudden realization.

"My my, you do know your history. Well it seems that you don't need me to explain further. This is The Big House. You will be assigned a cabin tonight at when your Godly parent claims you." Just then someone walked in "Ah Nico. Thank you for coming. It would seem that we have a new camper. Would you show him around? This is- dear me I haven't asked you your name"

"I'm Frodo" I replied. They both smiled at the mention of this name "Ya I know hahaha, those are my initials but I go by Frodo." I laughed and they joined in, thankful that they didn't offend me. "My dad loved Mythology, which I understand why now, and The Lord of the Rings. Hence my initials."

"Well it's a pleasure to meet you" said the boy "I'm Nico. Ready for the tour?"

I could barely hold in my excitement as we walked out of The Big House.

"This way" said Nico

Now that we were walking, I got a good look at him. He wore black torn jeans, sleek black converse, a black skull paterned T-shirt with the sleeves torn off, and a black leather jacket. "Either youre the the son of Hades, or you're a rocker" I said.

"You're right" he said "My dad is Hades"

As he smiled, I took in his face. He was pale, had jet black hair that fell down one side of his face. His teeth we're perfectly white and straight. A big contrast to his black clothes. His shirt was tight, revealing the outline of abs that instantly made me jealous.

"I like you" he said "you're funny"

* * *

**I hope you like this coughLaurencough ;) I bet you can already tell who Frodo's Godly parent is but that'll come next chapter. Along with more Nico for all you Nico lovers out there :D**


	4. New Family

**Hey guys! first off id like to apologize for my slip up. Nico is pale, not tan :p i fixed that in my last chapter. Anyways, here we go!**

* * *

The first stop on the tour was a huge outdoor eating area with lots of tables. "This is the dining pavilion" said Nico "this is where we'll find out who your Godly parent is tonight"

I looked around at the sight. There were enough places to accommodate over a hundred people! I already loved it because it meant food was waiting for me. Yummy. I noticed Nico staring down and followed his gaze. There was a huge crack straight through the middle that had long been sealed, but was still visible. The way that he looked at it made it obvious it brought back a sour memory. Almost a guilty look. Did he do this? Dang. He must be pretty powerful if he did that. I made a mental note to not to get on his bad side. I felt suddenly relieved that he took a liking to me. I decided to not ask about it, so i waited for him to continue the tour.

After a minute or so, he snapped out of his thoughts and seemed to remember I was with him. "Lets keep going." He took me to the edge of the forest. "This is where we play hunting games and capture the flag" there wasn't much to it, so he moved on to a big field where I saw people sword fighting when I first entered camp. "This is where we train and practice" he said proudly.

"Will I get to train too? or is that for senior campers?"

"Haha no, everyone gets to learn and train here"

"Are the swords sharp?"

"Deathly" Ha, that's funny coming from the son of Hades. He then took me to a race track. I thought it was pretty normal at first, then I notices the deep gouges in the dirt and the hoof prints scattered all over.

"This is a chariot track!" I said in awe

"Hey I thought I was the one giving the tour" Teased Nico "Haha well this is the basics. We also have a ropes course, a climbing wall, and an archery range. I wont tell you about the cabins cause Chiron likes to give his speech and doesn't like it when people ruin it for him. Now lets see if we cant find some campers to introduce you to."

He led me around to different areas of camp but everyone seemed too busy. It didn't matter, cause that's when the conch sounded for dinner. We made our way back to the Dining Pavilion and I watched as everyone separated to tables. Some more full than others. Nico stayed with me and led me to what I later learned was the head table where Chiron and some guy in an uneven Hawaiian shirt drinking Coca Cola. Chiron stood up and all the chatter died down.

"Good evening everyone. Tonight is a special occasion for us. We have a new camper with us. Everyone please welcome Frodo."

I was overwhelmed by cheers and laughter. I couldn't help grinning. Never before had I felt like I belong as much as I did then. I did have friends, but none were very close, so I sometimes felt left out. But here, I don't know why, but I felt like I belonged. As if the cheering wasn't loud enough, above my head, something burst from thin air. It was a red flaming image. The face of an owl stared out into the crowd as suddenly the cheering became twice as loud and all the campers sitting at one of the tables jumped to their feet. I couldn't stop smiling. When the cheers and hoots died down, Chiron clapped me on the back and said.

"It appears as if the Athena cabin has a new addition. Frodo, you have been claimed as the son of Athena. Those are your brothers and sisters. In Camp half-blood, you may have noticed many cabins. Each cabin houses the children of a specific God. Now go sit with your new family."

More cheers and hoots exploded as I went to sit at a big table with tons of smiling faces. This looks like its gonna be good.

* * *

**Sorry its been a while. I'll update soon! Please Like And Review!**


	5. Family Surprises

**I'm Back! Alright Lauren you can stop waiting for this. Here it is!**

* * *

All eyes were on me as I walked to the Athena table. But this was different than i was used to. There was no hostility, just smiles. By the time I reached the table, they had already opened up a space for me. I sat down and was instantly overwhelmed with welcomes and introductions. All around were people chattering, reading and designing. I was in heaven. Suddenly we were being fed. They told me that anything I wanted would appear for me. Deep dish pizza with mango juice and a sprite. After an offering to my mother, I dug in. Chatter filled the pavilion, as people finished eating, but I kept going like I hadn't eaten in a week. Which was pretty accurate. Through my pizza, I talked to a few people around me and made another friend. Her name was Lauren. She was 16 like me and was from Hawaii. She had long dark braided hair, and a crazy smile. We joined in on a discussion of Athenian artifacts when I noticed her glancing to her left every few seconds. I stole a glance to see Nico staring at me showing off his pearly whites. I waved at him but he didn't seem to see me. Wait. I know that smile. That's a "Girl" smile. Was he looking at Lauren? He totally was. A wicked smile crossed my face as I realized this was probably a secret. And now I knew about it. I couldn't decide if i should be scared, or proud to have found out.

Twenty minutes later, I found myself seated in an amphitheater around a blazing campfire. On either side of me were Nico and Lauren. Ya I know right? My first day at camp and I was already third wheeling. But actually, it wasn't that bad. I got the feeling that they were actually taking a liking to me. I don't know what got into me in the moment, but I asked "So how long have you two been secretly dating?" I was rewarded with looks of shock. Like two thieves caught in the act. "Don't worry, I wont say anything." I added with a wink.

"Is it that obvious?" asked Nico

"No way" I said "I can just tell cause I look at the girl I like the same way as you do." Looks of relief crossed their faces, then they laughed. Then relief flooded through me as i realized Nico wasn't about to send me straight to Tartarus.

After the camp fire and a great sing along, everyone dispersed. Nico went to his cabin, it must be lonely in his cabin, all alone. Lauren went to the Big House to talk to Chiron, and I was brought face to face with one of my half sisters. At least two years older than me, but a few inches shorter. Long blonde hair in a ponytail, and a golden laptop under her arm. Her name was Annabeth and she was my cabin leader. She brought me to my cabin and showed me around. It was a lot bigger inside then inside than it was outside. No doubt some magic from mom. All the bunks were pushed to the side. Just like my room back home. Everyone had their own work space littered with books and computers. Annabeth led me to an empty bunk and i dropped my stuff and fell heavily onto it.

"What's going on?!" I said in a panic. The glowing owl face was back.

Annabeth chuckled as if she'd seen this a million times before and said "Mom gives us all a present on our first day as a welcome to camp."

"Well what is it?"

"It's different for everyone. Some people get books, others computers, or in my case, a Yankees hat."

My hand was glowing. That was not normal. Suddenly my middle finger on my left hand burst into flames. I started screaming in a panic trying to put it out, but it was magic fire so it wouldn't go away. It took me a minute to realize that I wasn't being burned. It wasn't even hot. I looked around and half of the people in my cabin were rolling on the floor clutching their stomachs laughing, and the other half, chuckled but gave me a look of sympathy. The fire eventually went out, and all that was left was a ring. I took it off and examined it. It looked cool and modern. Made out of black carbon fiber with steel rings on the edges and a rubbery tire tread middle. But when I looked closer at it, it suddenly shifted. It was now made out of solid Celestial Bronze, and was engraved with Greek writing. I was about to ask what the writing said when suddenly words seemed to twist and morph. I could suddenly read it. Multiple words were written along the outside and inside. 'Gyges' 'not visible' 'power' repeated all over. Gyges. I read that somewhere. He talked about a ring that could make the user invisible. The Lord of the Rings based the ring of power off of his ring. I put it back on my finger and continued to ponder if this really was the ring of Gyges, and if so, could it really make the user invisible? Suddenly Annabeth yelped. "What?" I asked

"You're invisible!" she said

I looked down and saw my bunk. I was not visible. the moment I thought 'visible' my body exploded back into existence. I looked up in shock at Annabeth. We were both speechless

* * *

**Hey so I hope you liked this chapter. I know Lauren did ;P btw, the ring of Gyges is not made up. I did my research and it does what i said i does. Anyways. please like and review! **


	6. Powerful Secrets

**Well lucky you. 2 in one day! here we go!**

* * *

Annabeth grabbed my arm and dragged me out of the cabin before any of the other campers could inquire this phenomenon. "Let me see that" she more demanded then asked. I handed her the ring and my finger suddenly felt cold, but only where the ring was moments before. As Annabeth examined the ring of Gyges, she mumbled to herself. "Fascinating. This one has a mental connection."

"Wait what do you mean _this_ one?"

"It means that this isn't the only magical item that makes the user invisible. My Yankees cap does the same thing. But to turn invisible you put it on and to become visible again you take it off. But this seems to have a mental connection with the user." She looked down at the ring once more and noticed it wasn't there anymore. Panic hit me as I thought it was lost but she jsut grabbed my hand and yanked it off my finger.

"Woah! Did you see that! you had it and then it was just gone and on my finger!"

"Yeah, some magical items do that. Percy has a sword that transforms into a pen and it always appears in his pocket."

"Who's Percy?"

"My boyfriend"

"Oh ok"

Annabeth suddenly pulled out her Yankees cap and put it on. I jumped as I was still not used to the magical power thing. I turned invisible too as my ring reappeared on my finger for the second time. Then something changed. I could see Annabeth again. And myself. Annabeth suddenly paled. Can you see me?"

"Yes"

"Can you usually see yourself when invisible?"

"No"

"Can you see yourself now?"

"Yes"

"Well this is new." she said. "_This can be a new way to communicate on quests"_

_"_What do you mean communicate on quests?"

Annabeth almost fainted. "I never said that. I thought it" she said with wide eyes

"_Can you read my thoughts?" _I thought

"_Yes i can!"_ suddenly we couldn't contain our excitement "Don't tell anyone" she said "This can't get out or we'll have too many questions asked."

That night we stayed up late studying the strange new powers of invisibility and the seeming connection between our two magical items. Annabeth and I connected that night. Turns out that she was a secret pranker. Apparently, some of the pranks that the Stolls (Twin prankers that were kind of famous around camp) were blamed for, were hers. We realized the pranking potential of two invisible children of Athena. Turns out that the mind reading worked over an indefinite distance. but only worked between the two of us.

I was feeling happy. I made three friends in one day and gained a magical ring to make me invisible. Tomorrow I was going to train in sword fighting, and I couldn't be happier! I met up with Lauren and we talked for a bit on our way back to the cabin. I couldn't hold my excitement at hearing the words capture the flag. but it would be demi-God style. with swords and everything! I fell asleep on my bunk with a smile on my face. It was the best sleep I'd gotten in a long time

* * *

**Hey! so I hope you like this! There's a bit of foreshadow in here if you can find it ;) anyways i'll update as soon as soon as I can. Good night and stay frosty!**


	7. Initiation

**HEY! once again i don't own PJO. Enjoy!**

* * *

I woke up to the soft sound of typing on a laptop. I checked my watch, 5:00. Yet I felt as if I could run a marathon. I rolled out of bed and walked over to the only occupied desk in the cabin. It was Annabeth. She noticed me and smiled. I peered over her shoulder to her laptop and saw that she was researching my ring. "Found anything?"

"Nothing we don't already know." she said "Turn invisible at will, returns to the owner, telepathy when invisible, and basic history."

"Well I guess its really user friendly then eh?"

"Haha yeah."

"Well I'll leave you to this. I'm going to get ready. Cya at breakfast."

"Yep" she added distractedly; already lost in her research again.

I went back to my bunk and pulled open my drawers. There was clothes magically stocked in my size and style. '_thanks mom.' _I grabbed a pair of jeans and a black sleeveless Tee, grabbed a towel and made my way to the showers.

Half an hour later found me fresh and ready for the day. I went back to my bed and tried to get a few more winks. When breakfast time came around, I joined the crowd walking towards the sweet smell of food. I found Nico walking near the back and waited up for him. "Hey Nico!"

"Hey Frodo. Ready for your first official day at camp?"

"I'm stoked!"

"Alrighy then. Meet me after breakfast and we'll get you initiated"

"There's initiation?" I asked in a panick

"Haha no" he said with a wink "We're just gonna get you suited and measured for armour and a sword."

"what!" I said "I get my own sword?!"

"Haha yep. Now come on! Lets get some food."

At the thought of food, my stomach let out a deep growl. "Yeah, that seems like a good idea."

After breakfast, Nico brought me to the Hephaestus cabin. Right away, they were on me taking measurements. Within minutes, I was wearing full Greek armor that fit me perfectly. Next, they brought me to the training arena, handed me a standard sword and were about to take me through the basics, when I caught them off guard by showing off what I already knew. I wasn't as good as them in actual combat, but I was good enough. After an hour of watching me practice, they walked up to me with a sword. "Whats this?" I asked

"This is your new sword" said an older girl from the Hephaestus cabin "Perfectly balanced, your measurements, and fit to your fighting style."

I gave it a few test swings. It was perfect. These kids really knew how to make weapons. "Thank you so much" I said with a grin

"Well now that we got that covered" said Nico "Go shower up and we'll move on."

Ten minutes later, Nico brought me to the archery field. "Well" he said "You look more like a swordsman from what I've seen, but do you wanna try archery just for the heck of it?"

"Sure!"

As we walked up to the archery shed, a girl walked up to us. "Hey Nico! Hi, you're Frodo right?" I had to do a double take when I saw her. She was average height, with not-so-lazy brown curls, lavender blue eyes, a kind smile, and she looked like a hunter. She had a bow slung over her shoulder, and seemed to be one of the head archers.

"Yeah that's me"

She extended her hand and I took it "I'm Kyla. Pleased to meet you" she said with a smile. "You here for some archery?"

"Yes please"

"Well what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

**NICO'S POV**

Frodo seemed to be adjusting well. I was surprised at his swordsmanship. He was actually really good. I left him at archery for a few hours to go find Lauren. I found her by the lake reading a book. I sneaked up behind her and placed my hands over her eyes. "Guess who" She put down her book and turned around; pulling me into a bear hug. When she smiled, I felt the ever present butterflies in my stomach suddenly redouble their fluttering. Her hand slid into mine and our fingers intertwined.

"So how's Frodo doing?"

"He seems to be doing good. I left him with Kyla at archery for a while."

"Can I join you on the rest of your 'initiation'?

"Of course you can" I said with a smile

* * *

**All righty guys! I hope you liked this. any feedback, comments and suggestions would be really appreciated. Good night guys and stay frosty. ;)**


	8. Archery and other Dangerous Actions

**Hey! so um I dont really have much to say atm so enjoy!**

* * *

**FRODO'S POV**

Archery definitely wasn't my thing but it sure was fun! Kyla laughed at my futile attempt at archery but gave me helpful tips. Her skills on the other hand, were flawless. At first I thought she was a daughter of Apollo, but was shocked to find out she was in fact a daughter of Artemis! Ya that's right, the maiden Goddess had a daughter! I guess that's why she was such an amazing archer, and also probably why she had an almost silver glow. Cool! When Nico came back with Lauren, I clumsily put away the bow and thanked Kyla for the lesson.

"Cya around Frodo!"

"Later Kyla!"

Nico walked up to me and said "So what's the deal? Are you an archer too?"

Kyla giggled from a few feet away where she was collecting arrows. "Haha not exactly" I laughed

Lauren joined in and said "Well from what I heard you're pretty good with a sword, so you don't need to be good at archery."

"Well it's almost lunch so lets go see the stables and then grab some food before capture the flag" suggested Nico

We walked to the stables and I was caught off guard to see that along with horses, there were anamatronic bulls, and Pegasi! I went to go pet some of the horses and pegasi as Lauren and Nico smiled at my excitement while holding hands. They looked really happy together.

Lunch was great. I took my plate of pizza and ribs and scooped off a portion into the fire while muttering "Athena, accept my offering" and as it burned, the most indescribably appetizing smell wafted up in the smoke. If the Gods got to eat whatever was making that smell, then I envied them with a passion. I sat with Lauren and we chatted about Marvel comics and soon got into a heated argument with another Athena boy who thought that DC comics was better. This lasted for most of lunch as people started to drift away from the Pavilion to get ready for capture the flag. Eventually the conversation died down and we joined the people leaving.

I adjusted my armor and gripped the pommel of my new sword in its sheath. Thankfully, I was on Annabeth's team for my first game and she ran me though the rules. She told me not to use my ring this time until we could train with invisibility a bit more. So I took it off and threaded it through a necklace I made for it earlier. The game began without a hitch and I joined into the charge. Right away I found someone from the other team to fight. This was my test. He slashed and I parried and followed up with a 360 slash at hip height. I hit his armor, but it knocked him off balance long enough to sparta kick him against a tree. I didn't wait around to see what he'd do. I kept running. Suddenly I felt a pain burn through my leg. I looked down to see an arrow protruding from my thigh. I stood in shock for a moment until someone tackled me from behind. I extended my arms in front of me to break my fall and instantly regretted it when I felt a crack in my left wrist followed by a sharp pain. The rest of me landed on my attackers leg and I felt it give way as their leg broke under my weight. I cringed, but rolled over and swung at my attacker, and was rewarded with a satisfying smack. I heard a cry of pain and paused for a moment as it seemed familiar. I looked at my opponent, and realized it was Kyla! "Oh my Gods what have I done?!" I exclaimed as I came to my senses and my fighting instincts faded. "I'm so sorry Kyla!"

She grimaced through the pain and managed a pained smile "It's okay Frodo. I remember my first war game. Similar results. Don't worry about it."

I managed a weak smile and helped her up. She leaned on me and we managed to hobble off of the playing field. As we made it off, we were immediately put on stretchers and wheeled off to the Infirmary.

* * *

**Okay! well im not really good at these authors notes eh? haha well you know the drill. like, review and stay frosty! haha any feedback will be greatly appreciated! Cya!**


	9. First Timer

**I'm baaaaccckk! haha well Thanks to my follower. First and only haha. anyways, Don't be surprised if I don't do author's notes for a while. I feel like theyre only taking away from the story at the moment. Well thats pretty much it. Enjoy!**

* * *

I felt pretty embarrassed being wheeled off the field so early in the game, but I was almost relieved to see that I wasn't alone. At least three other campers were injured just as bad as me. I turned to Kyla and saw that she was gently massaging the left side of her jaw where i had punched her. "Sorry again" I said

"Are you kidding?" she said "That was a fair fight! You'll get used to it eventually, haha don't feel bad, everyone gets hurt at one point or another."

"I-I've just never really hurt someone that bad."

"You did great! For your first fight, taking down two more experienced campers before falling, and still continuing to fight. Great job" she said with a smile.

I forgot about the other camper I took down. I looked over to where I had seen him sitting before, and he saw me looking at him. He smiled and gave me a thumbs up. Turns out I just winded him and then another camper found him and finished him.

Once Kyla's leg was set, my wrist taken care of, and the arrow taken out of my leg, things in the Infirmary quieted down a bit. We were the last ones in, so we were given some ambrosia and nectar and left to rest. Almost Immediately, Nico and Lauren ran in "Frodo! Kyla! We heard you got hurt! What happened?"

"I saw someone running though the forest, so I shot him in the leg and tackled him. He landed on my leg and broke it, he sprained his wrist but managed to punch me in the jaw with his other hand." said Kyla

"What about you Frodo?" asked Nico

"I was the one she shot and tackled" I said with a smile

"You did all that!?" said a shocked Lauren "Wow!"

"Haha yeah"

"How long are you two in here for?"

"About two more hours" said Kyla

"What!" I exclaimed "But you have a broken leg!"

"The Ambrosia and Nectar speeds up healing remember?" she said while Nico and Lauren tried to stifle their laughter

"Oh, right" i said shyly

"Well we brought someone that wants to meet you" said Lauren "She's the Oracle."

Suddenly another girl walked in. She was kind of shorter, had red hair, not dyed, real color, and a huge welcoming smile. She took a deep breath as if she was going to start a prepared welcome speech, and started "Hi! My name is Rachel. I'd-" I had just looked her in the eyes, when she stopped. Green smoke seemed to appear from nowhere. Then it got scary. She began to speak in a deep ancient voice.


	10. Prophesy

"_What was defeated must rise again,_

_gaining strength in deaths deep den,_

_in land of cruise and relaxation,_

_five must find their destination,_

_to board the vessel, you must not pay,_

_but what is good doesn't always stay,_

_siblings' secret keeps assurance,_

_be prepared for untimely happenstance,_

_an ancient foe to defeat once more,_

_on the way you meet one more."_

I looked down to make sure I didn't wet myself. I suddenly was hesitant to get to know this Rachel chick. She seemed blank for a moment, then snapped out of it. "I just did it again didn't I?"

"You could say that" said Kyla

"What was that?" I said. I cringed at how my voice cracked

"That was a prophesy" said Lauren "We should go find Chiron."

"I'll get him" volunteered Rachel reluctantly

"So what just happened?" I asked

Lauren and Nico sat down. "Well anytime that happens, a quest is needed to fulfill the prophesy." said Lauren

"Wait like a real quest? With real monsters and real adventure?" I said

"Looks like it's us four and one more. Frodo, you should chose the last one."

"What? Why me?"

At that moment, Chiron walked in with Annabeth. "So I hear that there is another quest?" He said

"That's right" said Kyla

"What is the prophesy?"

Lauren relayed him the prophesy. "Well, looks like you need one more" said Chiron

"Annabeth" I said without hesitation

Everyone was caught off guard, but I knew instantly what the siblings' secret was. Annabeth needed to be on this quest.

"Well then" said Chiron "We'll make the arrangements and when you are all ready, we'll send you off. For the time being, I'll leave you all to converse."

He left and we sat there for a moment. "Well I guess we should talk about this" said Annabeth "I already know what part of the prophesy is."

"What part?" asked Kyla

"The siblings' secret"

"What is it?"

"Frodo, shall we?"

I placed my ring on my finger, and she pulled out her hat. She put it on as I turned in visible. Everyone gasped and they saw this.

"But how will that reassure us?" said Nico

We turned visible again, and I said "We can read eachother's minds while both invisible"

"That could be useful" said Lauren "Okay, with that down, lets try to figure the rest out."

"Well I like one part of it" I said

"What part? said Nico

"We're going somewhere nice" I said with a grin "We're going to the Caribbean"


	11. Gyges Swiss Army Knife

"How's that leg feeling Frodo?" asked Lauren

"Better than ever" I smiled.

"Nice sword" said Annabeth

"Thanks" I said "I wish it was like the sword you said Percy has. Having a sword that turns into something more portable."

Suddenly my finger caught on fire again "What the-" I screamed. I instinctively opened my hand and would have dropped my sword, but it was stuck to my hand. Or more specifically, my ring. The cold fire spread to the hilt, then the blade, till it was all covered. Then slowly, the sword started to melt and wrap around my hand, shrink, then melded into my ring. The fire stopped, but my ring was still glowing. Red words slowly engraved themselves onto the surface of my ring '_sword' _and then returned to normal but with the newly engraved words staring back at me.

"I think that was one of the weirdest things I've ever seen in my life" said Lauren "How did that happen? What were you thinking?"

"I was thinking about how cool it would be if my sword did that. Then it just kinda did." I said. I thought '_sword'_ and in the blink of an eye, the ring seemed to split, straighten, then grow into my full size sword.

"That is one messed up ring" said Nico "You think it can do that with other weapons too?"

"Let's go see" I said with a mischievous smile. Nico and I jogged off to the armory, telling the others that we would meet them with Chiron in a few minutes. We made it to the armory and started picking up weapons off the racks: A spear, dagger, knife, throwing knife, and a bow. Once we had our selection of weapons, I picked up the spear and hesitated. 'I want this spear to meld like my sword did.' The fire started again "It's working!" I said with pure glee. One by one, all the weapons were absorbed, and more words added to the surface of the ring. I could switch between weapons in an instant. I could throw the throwing knife and it would return when I wanted it to.

"I take that back. I love that ring" Nico said with a smirk "Let's grab some arrows and lets go"

Back at the Pavilion, Chiron was there with a sending off party. He handed Annabeth some keys, and wished us luck. Annabeth kissed her boyfriend and gave him a long hug, then we left.

Thirty minutes later found us driving in the interstate going south. We didn't really know where exactly to go, but south seemed like a good start. We stopped to fill up, when a man walked up to us and called Annabeth by name. "Annabeth" he said as she jumped "I've got a delivery for you" He pulled out an envelope, then winked. For a moment he seemed different but then he disappeared.

"Who was that?" we asked as Annabeth got back in the van.

"Hermes' she said

"What did he give you?" I said

She grinned and pulled out five plane tickets. "Our next ride"


	12. Meddling Parents

The plane ride was pretty uneventful. I guess Zeus was okay with us flying since Percy wasn't with us. I must admit, when I heard about Zeus' grudge with Percy, I was kinda scared that his grudge would make him want to shoot us out of the sky too. That aside, it was nice to fly.

**ANNABETH'S POV**

We landed without a hitch and had a quick lunch at the airport. We had just left through the front doors, when a limo almost hit us. We dived to the side and it screeched to a halt. Someone familiar stepped out. "Frodo, there's someone who wants to see you." said Ares

**FRODO'S POV**

Some huge guy in a suit and shades stepped out of the limo and told me to get in. I was pretty freaked out. "Ares, What is this all about?" asked Annabeth

"That's for me to know, and Frodo to find out." responded Ares gruffly. "Now get in" He grabbed my arm and shoved me in the limo.

I was face to face with one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen. Her face seemed to morph between like every supermodel ever. It was strange, but I still caught myself staring.

**KYLA'S POV**

****Frodo got out a few minutes later. He looked really shaken up. Not surprising considering 'A' he was face to face with Aphrodite, and 'B' I'd heard many stories about Percy's encounters with the Goddess, including her love of meddling with someones love life. Once Frodo got out, Ares stepped back in and the limo and it peeled out. I didn't know a limo could do that, but I guess anything is possible with the Gods.

**FRODO'S POV**

"So um, I've got good news and bad news. What do you want to hear first?" I said as the dust cleared.

"Bad" they all said in unison

"Turns out Aphrodite is gonna be very involved."

Annabeth cursed under her breath. "Well whats the good news?"

I pulled out another five tickets. "Were going on a cruise!" I yelled and everyone cheered as they forgot about Ares and the limo.

* * *

**Hey so sorry about this short one, i just needed a transfer to the cruise ship. anyways, ill update soon!**


	13. Not Relaxing

**NICO'S POV**

We boarded the huge 'Princess Andrea' a few hours later. I shuddered at the cruel joke that had been played on Annabeth. The name was so close to the ship that Luke once used as his floating headquarters. 'Princess Andromeda'. I knew Annabeth had bad memories of that ship. I just hope she wont get too shaken. Our rooms were all next to eachother and we settled in. Then we met in Frodo's room to figure out what to do next.

"Isn't it obvious?" said all three Athena children at once "We relax till the 'untimely happenstance'. Something that will probably split us up."

"Gee, that makes it so much easier to relax" I said hoping endlessly that it didn't mean me and Lauren would get split up.

"Its not much consolation" said Frodo "But at least we know what to do now right? Now we have time to plan and enjoy ourselves."

"I never thought I'd hear the words 'relax', and 'a quest' in the same sentence" said Annabeth "but let's use the time we have."

"All that seems to be left in the prophesy is an ancient monster to fight, finding someone, and getting split up" said Lauren

"Well then keep your eyes open for someone who might be the one we find, and other than that, lets have some fun!" added Frodo

**KYLA'S POV**

One thing that we got wrong was the relaxing. No relaxing was done that day. There was too much to do! Swimming, Rock climbing, and so much more! I went to the rock climbing wall to practice a bit, but it was too easy. I did get the attention of one or two boys though. After that, I went to explore the ship. I found a library full of books, and Athena girls. Of course they'd be here. I wandered around a bit more, and found the boys at an all you can eat rib buffet. I'd never seen someone eat as much a Frodo was. There was already a two buckets full of clean rib bones, and he was still attacking his plate as if he hadn't eaten in weeks! I decided to leave them to their food, and went to a magic show they were showing on one of the many ballrooms.

**FRODO'S POV**

Wow. Those ribs were amazing. I felt so full after my seventh rack. Nico and I stumbled like drunks through the halls of the ship trying to find Lauren. I saw a sign that said Library, and steered Nico towards it. There she was with Annabeth surrounded by a mountain of open books. Nico joined them, and I was suddenly alone to explore the ship. I vaguely wondered where Kyla was, but was confident that she could take care of herself. I walked around and admired the fine craftsmanship of the vessel, until I'd digested enough to think properly.

I walked back to my room, and put on some shorts and grabbed a towel. The water in the pool was the perfect temperature. Not too hot, and barely cold. Just enough that t would refresh you from the heat, yet wasn't so cold that you wouldn't want to jump in. I dived in and started to do laps. I loved to swim. In fact, I was almost a qualified lifeguard as well. I swam for about half an hour, then practiced my diving for a while.

_'i'll enjoy watching your love-life'_

I cursed under my breath as the memory of my encounter with Aphrodite made me mess up my swan dive. Water smacked my face hard cause I overshot and didn't tuck my chin in time. I surfaced with a red face that was numb. I decided that i should probably go back to laps.

_'I wont be as easy on you as I was with Percy'_

This time, I hit my head on the wall at the far end of the pool and nearly inhaled a mouthful of water. Maybe I should stop doing something where I can hurt myself if I get distracted.

**KYlLAS' POV**

The magic show was decent, but I'd seen too much Godly magic to be overly excited about sleight of hand and illusions. Oh well. I decided that maybe I should go swimming for a bit before dinner.

The pool was great. I eased in and began to just float for a bit. People were starting to leave for dinner, so I pretty much had it to myself. Eventually, I sat on the edge with my feet in, just enjoying the warmth of the Caribbean twilight when movement on the far side of the pool caught my eye, illuminated by the underwater lights in the pool. A dark spot was in the bottom corner of the pool. I wondered what it was, when it moved again, I saw that it was a boy. He surfaced for a few seconds, only to dive back down and sit in the corner again. I watched as this process was repeated after three minute intervals. This guy was like a fish! every few cycles, he would swim along the bottom of the pool and preform quick turns and and spins before returning to his spot in the corner. I got out of the pool and move closer to get a better look. He must have noticed me coming closer, because this time, instead of swimming straight up to surface, he swam along the bottom then rushed up to the side right in front of where I was standing. It was Frodo! "You know for a son of Athena, you sure like to swim a lot."

"You know for a daughter of Artemis, you sure aren't very sneaky." he returned with a smile.

"Haha, but honestly, you swim almost as well as Percy! You know, If he didn't use his water breathing or water manipulation and stuff."

"I'm going to take that as a compliment" he said as he pulled himself out of the pool

"So what were you doing down there?"

"I was thinking"

"Wanna talk about it?

"No I'm good. But thanks"

"Hey I was just about to go look for everyone so we could get dinner. Wanna help me find them?"

"Yeah! I'm starving!"

"Really? what happened to all those ribs you ate?"

"I don't know, all I know is I'm hungry. So lets go!"

* * *

**So as repayment for my short last chapter, I made this one extra long. Hope you like it!**


	14. Drifting Apart

"Helloooooo passengers! THANK you for riding aboard the 'Princess Andrea' this is your captain speaking. Tomorrow will be our first stop on this cruise. We will dock for three hours before continuing our cruise through the lovely Caribbean. Thanks again, and have a great night!"

As the PA clicked off, I sat down for my fifth helping of Ice cream. "Do you think the next part of our quest is gonna be on this island?"

'Who knows" said Nico

"I guess we'll find out when it happens. Who's up for a stroll on the sky deck?" I said

"You're done already?" said Annabeth in disbelief

"I'll go with you" said Nico

"I'm up for that" added Kyla

"I think we'll just finish up then go to the library before bed" said Annabeth

"Wow, I knew my family were nerds, but this is just too much!" I said with a wink. An expression of mock offence was returned. "Catch you guys tomorrow then. Good night."

"See ya" added Lauren and Annabeth

The sky deck was amazing. The view of the dark Caribbean sea sprawled out before our eyes. The three of us leaned against the rail and enjoyed the warm sea breeze at our backs. We chatted for a few minutes then decided to practice a bit before bed. We went to our rooms to retrieve our weapons, then met back on the sky deck. Kyla practiced shooting at plastic cups while Nico and I sparred. Arrows whizzed past us as Kyla expertly aimed around us. Nico beat me almost constantly, then would stop to correct some technique. But I did get close once or twice. Suddenly we heard a scream. We looked over and witnessed a bizarre scene unfold before us. A pelican and two seagulls were swooping at Kyla and ramming her. I didn't even notice that Nico and I had started to run towards her, but she was on the back side of the deck. Then in slow motion, we saw in horror as one of the seagulls unlatched one of the boarding gates as the other two birds shoved her back against it. The gate swung open and she overbalanced. Nico and I were too late. She was already in the water before we got within ten feet of the gate. Out of instinct, I didn't slow down, but sprinted and dove over the rail headfirst into the water. Nico, having hesitated, followed suit a few seconds later. I surfaced and did a 360 scan and saw Kyla a few feet to my left, flailing in the water. Her bow was around her neck and her quiver was full of water and pulling her down. I swam over to her and immediately untangled her from her bow and quiver. She immediately began so swim a bit easier, but her sandals and wet clothes were still making it herder. Nico showed up a few seconds later, and I quickly handed him the bow and quiver, now drained of water and sealed so it floated. Once he took those, I supported Kyla so she could regain her breath. We floated and watched the ship sail away accompanied by the screeching of the seagulls that seemed oddly like laughter.


	15. Where are they?

**ANNABETH'S POV**

Wow! I don't remember ever sleeping in so late. After being in the library for a few hours, Lauren and I headed straight to bed. I love the library. Fiction books have been drawing so much attention from Lauren and I lately. I don't know why. But now, sleeping in till 10:00? This is not like me. I groggily got dressed, then went to the room next door to find a drowsy Lauren in the same situation as me. "How's it going?" I said

"Just woke up. You?" she mumbled

"Same. Wanna get breakfast?"

"Yeah, just a sec. Let me get changed."

We went to the buffet, and I loaded my plate with bacon, eggs, sausage, and two waffles. Lauren got lot's of fruit and healthy stuff. We sat and ate for a minute, then realized none of the others were here. They said they were going on a stroll before bed, but none of them were at breakfast. Maybe they slept in too. "Hey Lauren, where do you think the others are?"

"Im not sure" she said through a mouthful of pineapple "Let's look for them after breakfast"

**LAUREN'S POV**

"Where are they!?" said Annabeth "It's not like they just fell off of the boat!"

"I don't know, it's not like Nico to just disappear without telling me. He usually hugs me in the mornings" I said sadly

"Don't worry" said Annabeth "Maybe they got caught up in one of the hundreds of things going on on this boat."

"Well can't you at least try to contact Frodo with your invisibility hat?"

"It doesn't work unless we're both invisible"

"Well can you at least try it? Please?"

"It's worth a shot I guess"

**NICO'S POV**

****_'Ugh. My head hurts. Why is it so dark in here? All I remember is jumping off the boat to help Kyla, then the current started dragging us in the opposite direction. Well thanks for that Poseidon._' My eyes adjusted, and I saw that I was in a cave. Frodo and Kyla were here too. Still asleep. At least I hope they were asleep. _'Oh no! Lauren! She's still on the boat!' _Just then, the others woke up coughing.

"Where the Di Angelo are we" said Kyla

"Glad to know you didn't lose your sense of humor" I said holding out my hand to help them up. "As for your question, I have no clue"

"Well at least we know we're on the right track with the prophesy" added Frodo

"Um Frodo? Your ring.." Kyla pointed to his hand, where his ring was glowing a bright blue "Is it supposed to do that?"

"Absolutely no idea." he said a little pannicked "What do I do!?"

"Turn invisible" said Kyla

**LAUREN'S POV**

"Oh my Gods! It worked!" Said Annabeth said in my bedroom on the boat "He answered!"

"What!? Are they okay? Is Nico with them? Where are they!?"

"Yes, yes and they don"t know" Annabeth's voice spoke from her invisible mouth.

"What happened?"

"Kyla was attacked by birds while they were sparring on the sky deck and she fell into the water. The boys jumped in after her, then the current pulled them away. Now they just woke up in a dark cave. That's all they know"

"Well what do we do?"

"We follow this quest, and hope the others follow their side. We'll meet up with them soon. Don't worry"


	16. The Unnamed island

**ANNABETH'S POV**

I couldn't concentrate! I couldn't even read a whole sentence without worrying or wondering what we had to do next. Then came a knock on my door. "Come in" I said, already knowing who it was. Lauren walked in and plopped down on the edge of my bed. I knew what she was thinking just by the look in her eyes. She was relieved her boyfriend was alive, and troubled as to what to do next. All the information we had was about finding someone, and fighting an ancient monster from Tartarus. No guidance, no directions or hints. Just a gap in instruction.

_'Ladies and gentlemen! This is your captain speaking. We have begun our approach and will land in a few short minutes. Welcome to the island and please enjoy! Remember, we're only here for half an hour and then we cast off again. Thanks again for sailing on the 'Princess Andrea"'_

"Maybe we should go to shore and see if anything doesn't call out to us as what to do next." I suggested

"Yeah that sounds good" said Lauren

It was a beautiful sunny day on this unnamed island. The perfect slap in the face from what we were supposed to do. We walked around and kept our eyes peeled for anything that could lead us. Ten minutes went by and not a single clue. Twenty, and we were restless. Twenty five, and we were going to give up. Then what we wanted least showed up around the street corner; A big 'Monster Doughnut' sign stood and mocked us. We didn't even have time to decide what to do because just then a Hydra walked out with a 'Monster Doughnut' bib around each of it's necks. It saw us, and immediately started to charge towards us. We did what any sensible person would do. We turned and sprinted like there was no tomorrow. Because if we didn't, there might as well be no tomorrow for us.

"Annabeth!" Lauren screamed "Use your hat!"

I understood right away. I pulled out my cap and put it on. I stopped and drew my knife from its holster in my boot, and stopped dead in my tracks. Spinning around, I saw the monster get within ten feet, still chasing Lauren. I dropped to my back, and the monster still charged. It kept running and as it was just about to pass over me, I jabbed my knife into it's chest. Its momentum carried it forward, but I kept the knife in place as it slid through it's scaly flesh with a sickening rip. The Hydra roared from three of its heads, and tried to snap at me with two, but it's forward motion kept me out of it's reach. My knife finally ripped clean through it's underbelly and it tripped and faceplanted, then burst into dust.

**LAUREN'S POV**

After Annabeth took down that Hydra, We raced down to the ship, hoping that we weren't too late, but as it turned out, we were. Looks like the quest has to continue here. But how does a small Island in the Caribbean have anything to do with an ancient monster from Tartarus? "Well, I guess we should look for an entrance to the underworld now. That's the only thing I can think to do now"

"I agree" said Annabeth half heartedly


	17. Dark Caves

**NICO'S POV**

Well great. We're stuck in a cave that's who knows where, separated from Lauren and Annabeth, and now we have to find some ancient monster and hope that the others don't get killed. Thank the Gods for Frodo's ring that lets him communicate with Annabeth and tell us what's going on. We'd been sitting in the cave, dead tired, for a few hours to rest before we go exploring the cave. Frodo wandered around a bit to think things out. Suddenly he called out "Guys! Check this out!" He came trotting up to us holding a bow and an arrow. "I can detach things from the ring too!" He showed us as he merged both bow and arrow into the ring, then turned the ring into the bow, and let it drop to the floor. I wondered if he hit his head or something, but then I saw that he was still wearing the ring. Then for emphasis, he turned his ring into an arrow. "Now I have unlimited arrows." He picked up the bow, notched the arrow, then fired. The arrow clattered on the cave floor somewhere in the distance, then Frodo brought his hand forward as if to draw again, and the arrow appeared notched just as he reached full draw. He repeated the process a few more times for emphasis, then turned to us with a huge grin on his face.

"That's really cool Frodo!" said Kyla "Now you just need to learn how to use that bow" she added with a sly smile

"I guess now that we're up we might as well explore this cave eh?" said Frodo

"Might as well" I said

We got up and did a quick spin. We were at the edge of a small lake at the front of the cave. We presumed that we washed up there. The only light we had was from the water that was refracting light from somewhere in its depths. The other way, the cave narrowed into the darkness. We needed a light. Kyla pulled out a key-chain with flint and steel. That was great, but we still needed something to light. I looked around to see if there was anything on the cave floor that seemed flammable, but it was bare rock. I turned back and saw Frodo hunched over with his sword. What was he doing? In the faint light I saw him pulling at the leg of his jeans and heard a rip. In a minute, he had cut off both pant legs just below the knees. "Will these work?" he said. handing the denim scraps to Kyla

"Yeah, but now we need something to tie them to to make a torch" she said

I drew my sword "Will this work?"

"Perfect"

We put together our makeshift torch and lit it. The walls of the cave flooded into view and orange torchlight danced across its rough surface. We walked along the passage and it started to notice deep gouges along the walls and floor. They looked like claw marks. I glanced over and saw Frodo had drawn his ring/sword and Kyla shrugged off her bow. We continued down the cave and I started to get a familiar sensation. The sensation I only got in the Underworld or around death. Before I could say anything, something showed up on the bare cave floor. First a sword, then an arm, and finally, the rest of the body. Before us, was a fully armored skeleton grinning blindly up at the cave ceiling. One of its legs were broken and an arm dislocated from it's socket. Scattered around it were more weapons. Weapons that seemed to be ancient. I guess we weren't the first to explore this cave. "Hey Frodo" I said "How many weapons do you think that ring can hold"

"Let's find out shall we?"

Three swords, four knives, two spears, and three bows later, I still marveled at that ring's abilities. But I didn't have time to think about that, because that's when we heard the scream.


	18. The Opening to the Cave

We were at a full on sprint down the cave. It started to twist and turn then widen. A light at the end of the tunnel started to brighten the cave, and we rushed into the blinding light outside. I couldn't see. Another scream rang to my right and my vision seemed to clear to the focus of an owl and I saw something all too familiar. Someone was running from a Hydra. Something was new though. Two of it's heads had a bib that read 'I'm a monster doughnut baby'. I don't know what took over me, but I ran over to Nico and grabbed his sword-torch as he stumbled around in the , then ran head on towards the monster. Fifteen feet away I yelled at it and turned invisible. I banked left as one of it's heads sent fire blasting at the spot where I was moments before. I sliced off the closest neck with my sword and immediately pressed the invisible flaming sword to the flailing stump. The Hydra screeched and blew fire into the air as I leaped onto it's back. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the running figure collapse exhausted onto the rocky ground. Nico, now unarmed, rushed to help the figure, while Kyla smoothly shrugged off her bow and started firing at the Hydra. Each arrow found it's target in one of the eight remaining eyes. Now the Hydra was flailing madly trying to buck me off. I wrapped my legs around one of the four flailing necks and wielded my sword swinging and burning, swinging and burning, until there was only one head left. Unfortunately, it was the head that breathed fire. By now, the Hydra was all but rolling over to get me off, and that's where Kyla jumped in. She shot arrow after arrow into its legs causing it to trip and fall. I lost my grip on Nico's sword and it skittered away leaving me flame-less. Kyla danced around the Hydra slicing at it's legs and tendons. It roared in pain and snapped at Kyla blindly. "Frodo use a shield!" Kyla screamed and threw one at me. '_Where did she get that?'_ Then I saw it. The opening of the cave was littered with more skeletons in armor. Now a shield was flying towards me like a Frisbee. I fumbled it, but managed to hold on. Now I realized. I stood up and stabbed the monster in the back. It's one remaining head turned towards me and I yelled taunts at it. Then it did exactly what I wanted. It reared back its ugly head, the arrows in it's eyes sticking out like antennas, opened up its mouth, and breathed a white hot flame at me. I raised the shield and the fire blasted it. Fire curling and licking around the edge of the metal. I felt the heat seep through the leather lining and warm up my arm till I felt like I'd burn like the other heads. Then the fire stopped and I leaped forward. In one motion I jumped off it's back and sliced off it's remaining head. Pressing the hot metal shield onto the new stump, I heard sizzling and the stench of burning flesh bombarded my nostrils. The body twitched for a few seconds, then exploded into dust. I immediately threw off the hot shield, and ran to where Nico was kneeling over someone. Kyla joined us seconds later. "Frodo your legs!" she said with a gasp. I looked down to see that my calves below my cut off jeans were scraped and bleeding. Two deep gashes ran down the middle of the scraping. "I think i'm going to sit down for a minute" I said.


	19. Hydra heads are like Snakes

If I was going to place an entrance to the underworld on some small unnamed island, where would I put it. Dammit. I bet Nico would know if he were here, but he doesn't know where 'here' is. "Hey owl-face" I called jokingly "Any thoughts on this subject?" Annabeth was staring distantly at the sea. The warm sea breeze blew her hair back in an image that made me think of the Titanic. It was obvious what was on her mind. Percy. It was the first quest in a while that she wasn't with him. The salty air smelled like the Poseidon cabin. And Percy. She snapped out of it at the sound of her name.

"Sorry, I was... distracted" she muttered "Well the Hydra once used to guard an entrance to the underworld. So maybe we should go Hydra hunting"

I didn't like the look on her face when she said that. But lack of a better idea found me outside the monster doughnut waiting for a Hydra baby to emerge. Annabeth was somewhere to my left under her invisibility cap. We didn't even know if this would work. I mean, we just killed one hydra. The chances that there were more on this island were slim. If there was by chance an entrance to the Underworld on this island, then maybe we would find a mother Hydra and one or two more babies. But for all we know, we might not even need to be looking for the Underworld. Too late, here comes another Hydra. This one was at least twice as big as the last, and had one more head. Almost a fully grown Hydra. Thankfully we didn't have to kill this one. For now. I felt a tap on the shoulder signalling that Annabeth was ready to follow it. I snuck quietly out of the bushes and followed at a distance. I knew Annabeth was close by, but without seeing her, this felt like a rather lonely hunt. All that could be heard was the muffled thumps of the hydra's feet on the grass, and the quiet hisses coming from its six heads. Cresting a small hill, something we both dreaded creeped into view.

**ANNABETH'S POV**

Even while invisible I knew I had paled. I was right about the Hydra guarding the entrance to the underworld. But I never imagined this. Spread out below us was something no demigod would ever wish to see. This was a Hydra nest for sure, but it seemed like this Hydra family was having a reunion. This is how I saw it. Have you ever seen Indiana Jones? Well there's this one scene where he's in an ancient tomb, and there's hundreds of snakes around him. Now take that image, but instead of snakes, Hydra heads. That's how many Hydras there were. I looked over to where Lauren was, and saw that her face was almost as pale as Nico. I took off my cap and sat down hard. How in the Hades were we supposed to get through that?! Lauren sat down next to me, a look of disbelief on her face. "Well I guess that's one thing that Tartarus has been hiding."

"More like spewing" she said "How are we supposed to get past that? Even if we could both be invisible, there's no way that they wouldn't smell us. We need a plan." Then she started drawing in the dirt. "Ok so the nest is in a crater-like topography." she drew a wide circle "We're here" she made an X on the edge of the circle. "The entrance to the cave is in the middle where that huge boulder is" a triangle represented the entrance in the middle. "We need to draw them away. So I was thinking that you'd take your cap and go to this side of the crater" she pointed to an edge on the circle that was slightly to the left of our position "you'll get the attention of as many as you can and start to run. Once they pursue you, you put on your cap and get out of the way. Once they're clear, you come back and we take it from there."

"Got it" she said and jogged off without a second glance.

**FRODO'S POV**

Blood began to drip off my calves and splash onto the rock below making strange "Ink Blot" type patterns. I sat staring for a moment, carefully tracing the trail of blood with my eyes. Down my left calf in a lazy "S" shape to my ankle. On my right leg, it was worse. The gash was more jagged and longer. The blood was more spread out and almost looked like fire engulfing my leg. "Frodo" I faintly heard "Frodo" I should probably take care of this bleeding. "Frodo" this time I herd it loud and clear as a hand was placed on my arm. Kyla had a concerned look on her face. Dang it! I probably had zoned out for longer than I realized. "Yeah"

"Are you okay?" she asked

"Well I'm okay as in I'm not dead or maimed by the Hydra, but I'm not okay as in I should really get some bandages. You don't happen to have any do you?"

"All our stuff is still on the boat with the others." said Nico

"That's lovely" I thought for a second "We need to go back to the cave"

"Why?"

"The water. I need to wash the blood off. Help me up would ya?" Nico extended his hand and I took it, pulling myself off the ground. I shifted my weight from one leg to the other. There was a slight throb but nothing too painful. I walked slowly back into the cave with Nico close by and we slowly found our way back in the pitch black. Eventually the gentle light appeared and I sat down at the edge of the calm lapping water. I kicked off my shoes and socks and slowly lowered my feet, then legs into the salty water. I cringed as the first of the water hit my cuts and stung. Without warning, I dunked the rest of my legs and muffles a yelp as the salt felt less like stinging and more like burning. I gently wiped away the blood with a grimace and watched it cloud and fade in the water. I hope no sharks live nearby. I turned my ring into a knife and cut off my sleeves. I cut open my socks and dunked them into the water. I placed each sock on a cut, and then took my sleeve, slid it over my makeshift bandage and tied it tight, grunting from the sharp pain that followed. "Nico, do you still have my other pant leg?"

"Yeah" he fumbled to his belt loop and pulled out the one remaining leg and watched curiously.

I took it and cut it into four strips lengthwise and tied them around the rest of my "bandages".

"Where did you learn how to do that?" he asked

"I was in cub scouts for a year or so."

**KYLA'S POV**

I heard shuffling coming from the cave and saw Nico and Frodo emerge from the shadows. I had to stifle a giggle because then I saw Frodo's legs. Each one had a stripe pattern of cloth over his calves. Blue jeans on the top and bottom, and bright white sleeves in the middle. It looked so awkward on the rest of his "California Boy" getup. But the bandaging seemed like it would hold. "Nice bandages" I said. Frodo didn't have time to reply because right then, an audible gasp came from my right. It was the person that was attacked by the Hydra. I only got a good look at them when Frodo went to bandage himself. They were wearing a thick purple hoodie, which I thought was very strange because it was rather warm here, Long faded jeans, a big black backpack, and runners. I didn't know if it was a boy or a girl because they landed face down in the dirt with the hood on, and I didn't feel like accidentally waking them up while the others weren't here. But now they were sat up and the hood fell back to reveal that it was in fact a girl. She looked about seventeen. She had dark electric blue eyes and bleach blonde hair that fell down over her shoulders. Her bottom lip was cut near the corner and was bleeding steadily. "What just happened" she said quietly


	20. New Discoveries

**ANNABETH'S POV**

I don't think it was working. I was yelling and throwing things at the Hydras from my new position, but there was maybe three that seemed the slightest interested, and even then, they only growled at me but didn't even stand up. This was not normal for Hydras. I walked back to Kyla and she shared the same puzzled face with me. "Let's get closer and see what they do." I said. We walked, as casually as we could, closer to the horde of Hydras. Still nothing. We were within twenty feet of the nearest Hydra and nothing happened. It just turned one of it's heads lazily towards us, seemed un-interested, and turned away. Almost in a daze. I slowly picked up a rock and hucked it at the Hydra. It smashed into one of its heads, but it just shook it off and continued staring straight ahead. I remembered reading about this once. Monsters becoming uninterested in Demi-Gods. This happened only when an ancient monster was near. I guess it was some sort of respect thing that they would leave any food or prey for the ancient one to have first dibs. I suddenly was really scared for what was waiting for us in the underworld. "Lauren" I said " I think I know what this means"

**UNKNOWN GIRL'S POV**

"What just happened?" I muttered. All I remember was being chased by something, then tripping and falling. I think I hit my head and passed out, cause I just woke up. Close by were three other people. A tall, dark haired guy with bandages on his legs, a skinny, pale boy wearing all black, and a curious looking girl which I guess was an archer. My thoughts returned to the monster chasing me and I jumped to my feet "Where's the thing that was chasing me?" I guess the others were surprised when I got up cause the pale dude took half s step back.

"It's okay" said the girl "we killed it. I'm Kyla, and this is Nico" she pointed to the pale boy "And Frodo" she pointed to the other one "We're not gonna hurt you" she said in a soothing tone.

**FRODO'S POV**

She jumped up really fast it caught me off guard, but now she seemed to relax a bit when Kyla introduced us. "I'm Scarlett"she said "So could you please explain to me what that thing was and why it wanted to eat me?" she asked

"That was a Hydra" Nico said "And since it wanted to eat you, you're probably a Demi-God."

"What did you just call me?!" she seemed slightly angry but there was a hint of wonder there too

"Do you know about Greek Mythology?"

"Yeah, it's one of my favorite subjects" Then it clicked. "Wait. Hydra? Demi-God? Is this a joke?"

"No it's very real. The Gods are real."

"Prove it"

"Frodo, your ring"

I turned invisible at those words and she became wide eyed. "T-thats just a trick" she said. But it was obvious she was beginning to understand.

"I'm a son of Hades" Nico said "I can call un-dead soldiers to my aid and I have a Hell-hound as a pet." He whistled, and in seconds, Mrs. O'Leary appeared out of nowhere. Scarlett became pale.

"So you really are telling the truth?"

"Yes"

"Then who is my Godly parent?"

As if waiting for that question, a blazing symbol appeared above her head. She screamed and tried to swat at it. Looking back at her, were the crossed Hammers of Hephaestus.


	21. Preparation

**LAUREN'S POV**

This went against everything that was drilled into me in training. We were just walking through a horde of monsters. Not running, not fighting for our lives, walking through. Hydras were just looking at us. I swear they all had a smug look on their faces. As if they were saying "Puny Demi-Gods, won't stand a chance." It made me want to kill them all. But I don't think that would end well. I realized that we didn't have a plan and mentioned that to Annabeth. "Fine" she said "Let's go get some supplies as well and come back later."I felt relieved cause we had postponed a lot of danger, but the threat was still there.

We found a few small stores on the island and packed our bags full of things. Food, rope, flashlights, and lots of random stuff just in case. By the time we finished stocking up, it was already dark. So for the heck of it, we spent the last of our money on dinner and slushies, then set up camp.

**ANNABETH'S POV**

Lauren was freaking out now. The shock of a horde of hydras not trying to kill us wore off, and now she babbled on about how Nico could be anywhere and in danger or unarmed. She wondered about all these things till i finally knew how others must have felt when I talked about Percy. I finally found out how to shut her up. At least for a few minutes.

**NICO'S POV**

"What's that!?" yelled Scarlett, who fell back from the surprise

"That's the symbol of Hephaestus" I said

"So that means I'm his Daughter?"

"Yep"

"But I've never done metal work"

"It doesn't mean you're not good at it. But Hephaestus' children don't work only in metal, they use everything. I know a guy, Leo, who can make working model helicopters with just pipe cleaners. Nothing else. and they actually fly!"

"Well I did once re-wire my phone to receive data but only register it as a WiFi connection so I don't get charged"

"There you go!"

"Ok well if its all true, then are you three on a Quest?"

"Yes" said Kyla "And believe it or not, you were prophesied to be part of this"

"Ok now you're pushing it"

"No lie" said Frodo who had just snapped out of staring half open-mouthed at Scarlett.

"Alright alright, but are we gonna need to fight more things like that Hydra?"

"Even worse, some ancient monster rising from Tartarus." said Kyla

"Well then I need a weapon"

"What do you use?"

"Well I'm not a bad archer I guess"

"Done" said Frodo and separated one of the bows from his ring. He handed it to her as she stared open-mouthed at his hand as if it would turn into one of those Hydras at any moment.

Kyla also noticed her reaction and jumped in "Oh and we forgpt to mention that Frodo has a ring that can turn him invisible and can store weapons in it. He can also call it back to him at will."

To prove this, Frodo took off his ring and threw it somewhere in the grass. Then he stared at his bare finger and said "Now watch" as he said that, the ring appeared there. It literally burst there with a little fire and everything. Then he really started showing off. He switched rapidly between weapons, not even letting it fully form before changing it again.

"Alright" said Scarlett, a little distracted by the ring "well what do we do?"

"The prophesy said

_'What was defeated must rise again,_

_gaining strength in deaths deep den,_

_in land of cruise and relaxation,_

_five must find their destination,_

_to board the vessel, you must not pay,_

_but what is good doesn't always stay,_

_siblings' secret keeps assurance,_

_be prepared for untimely happenstance,_

_an ancient foe to defeat once more,_

_on the way you meet one more.'" _said Kyla

"Wait, it said five. There's only three of you."

"Yep, well there were five of us, then we got separated and we ended up here, and the other two are on an island somewhere. We know the siblings secret, that's Frodo's ring that let's him talk to another child of Athena called Annabeth, she has a hat that can turn her invisible. This keeps us in contact with the others. You are the one we meet on our way, so now all that's left is to get into Tartarus and fight whatever this thing may be."

"What about me? I need to be able to help too"

"How 'bout we make camp for the rest of the day. Frodo can continue training, and Scarlett can get the crash course on fighting." I said

"Sounds good to me" said Frodo

"I'm up for that" said Scarlett

**FRODO'S POV**

I started training with Nico while Kyla worked with Scarlett. The shield on my arm felt natural somehow. Fighting with one hand did too. I found that two swords gave me the most freedom to attack, while one sword and a shield made defense much easier. I found ways to incorporate both tactics while fighting. It took some time, but I found a way so I could switch what I was holding with my left hand easily. I'd press my right hand on my left knuckles and imagined the sword or shield forming already in battle position and it would. That way, I wouldn't have to stop to put it on. This change up, more than skill, was what let me match Nico in fighting, which was good, because I didn't have time to hone each technique now. I looked over to Scarlett and saw how determined she was to learn fast. Kyla was throwing everything she had at her, and she was retaining it all! I stared in awe at how fast she learned to fight and defend. When I looked back at Nico, he had his arms crossed and a smug look on his face. "Looks like Frodo found 'The Precious'" he said with a chuckle. I blushed and his smile just widened. "I think we've finished here." he concluded "Maybe you should go practice with a bow and arrow now" he added with a wink.

**KYLA'S POV**

I overheard Nico and Frodo talking and smirked a bit. I had a feeling that's what happened. He had the same reaction around Scarlett that Leo had around me. I decided I'd cut him some slack. But just this once. "Hey Frodo, since you're done with Nico, maybe you should come over here and learn to actually use your bow and arrow properly" I teased. It took him a few seconds to catch on, but eventually he walked over. I looked at Scarlett and saw a poker face. She wasn't gonna show her emotions while at work. I liked that. Frodo got here and I immediately got them both working hard.

Half an hour later, Frodo and Scarlett were both much better archers than before. I didn't think Frodo would get much better this fast, but I guess a daughter of Artemis is a good Archery teacher. He was nowhere near as good as Scarlett though. She was being modest when she said she wasn't a bad archer. She was actually really good, and improving fast! she was now on moving targets while Frodo got closer to bulls-eyes on the normal targets. If you could call them that. The targets were really just leather armor with a hole in the middle where the bulls eye would be. Frodo was hitting the armor every time at least, and Scarlett was shooting balls of rolled up leather that Nico was tossing. All this leather was taken of skeletons by Nico. He would place his hands on the skeleton, and it would just sink in the ground as if buried, but the armor would stay. Frodo had collected more shields and some armor for his ring, then the rest had been turned into targets for practice.

**FRODO'S POV**

Wow that was tiring. Training was done for the day but we still had a few more hours of sunlight left. I told the others I was going for a swim in the cave. Nico gave me a slightly questioning look, but Kyla understood. Scarlett was still in Poker face mode. Feeling my way through the cave, I started to think. I always seemed to over-think things, but sometimes it brought out some good ideas. I reached the small lake and undid my bandages. Glad to see scabs had formed cleanly. I sat down at the edge Kicked my shoes off, and put my legs in, swishing them back and forth lightly. I looked around the lake now. It seemed higher than before, confirming my suspicion that there was an underwater tunnel that led to open water. The tide must have been at its lowest when we were brought in and then filled before we woke up. I looked down to the bottom of the body of water. it wasn't very deep. Maybe seven feet of so. I watched as the light refracted and made strange patterns on the ceiling. That's when I zoned out. As always, my vision seemed to go out of focus, and my mind took over, replaying memories or pondering.

I remembered the day I was welcomed into camp. How welcoming it was. I started breathing heavily when I thought about school. I was always that one different guy. I'd moved three times and had to start at new schools each time, but it was always the same. People were nice, sure, but there was always something there that made me feel different. At first I thought it was my ADHD and OCD, but there were others at my schools that had the same thing. It wasn't that. I'd eventually began to just accept that I'd never fit in as much as others. Of course there was Stemmings, but he was a new friend and even he got along with others more than me. But when I came to camp. I felt at home. Just a few days of being with people that knew how I felt and understood my struggles, I couldn't believe that I thought my life before was normal. Well i guess it was in comparison to fighting monsters with swords, but I mean feeling the way I did. My thoughts started to fight for dominance and was overwhelming me, so I pushed them a side for a moment. I pulled off my shirt, took some deep breaths, then slipped into the salty water. I was right, the water was a foot or so above my head, but I didn't stop there. I exhaled a bit, watching the bubbles rush to the surface as I sank faster and sat on the rocky floor. I shut my eyes and let the thoughts flood back in. They swirled and ebbed like the water around me, then calmed. My first thought was my dad. It's been weeks since I saw him, but I hoped he knew I was safe. I left in such a hurry. Thankfully I was under water, or else I might have started to tear up. I released a few more bubbles, then returned to the surface for a new breath.

This time I exhaled half my breath right away and felt the water engulf me as I sand steadily to the bottom again. This thought was about Scarlett. I wasn't exactly looking forward to this thought, but it was already here so I might as well finish it. I thought about how Aphrodite had promised to meddle. I knew this is what she meant. Right away it was obvious to the others. But I didn't even know her! Without thinking, I went into a sub-thought. The way she walked. Light, yet confident. Perfect posture, yet had a casual air about her. The way her eyes seemed to alter from deep thought, to in a flashback, to look into your soul, to gentle and caring all within the space of a few seconds. I lost track of time and realized I was almost out of breath. I quickly floated back to the surface and let my lungs breathe. I went down again and just pushed all thoughts away again to calm my mind.

I sat like that for ten seconds or so and decided it was time to swim now. I opened my eyes and began to calmly glide through the water. I hugged the bottom and let my fingers slide against the rough rock bottom. I love swimming. It makes me feel like I'm flying almost. I bank left and right, pull up and dive down. I'm it total control, and gravity has no power on me. Oxygen on the other hand does, so I breach the surface and float on my back towards the edge again, looking at the smooth cave ceiling with light refracting on to it. I made it to the edge, and climbed out.

I thought I heard something and my head turned to where I thought the sound was. It was probably just the water dripping from me. I focused on what I was about to do again. I stood up, took two steps back, and ran at the water. When my feet were near the edge, I planted them both, and pushed off. I made an arc in the air and dove into the water. I loved doing this because when I hit the water, its like I'm in a jet-stream and I can move so much faster. When I lose my speed, I sink to the bottom, plant my feet, and push up. Since the water was semi-shallow, the force brought me almost out of the water, and I was able to dive again. When I surfaced again, I was sure I heard something. "Who's there?" I said

An embarrassed looking Scarlett stepped out of the shadows "Sorry" she said "The others were out looking for firewood and you were gone for a while so I was curious. I didn't mean to intrude."

I knew I was blushing, but I hoped that the faint light would hide that. "It's ok" I said pulling myself out of the water "I was just finishing up anyways." I sat at the edge of the water re-doing my bandages.

Scarlett took a few steps closer and said "How long have you known you were a Demi-God?"

"A few days" I admitted

"Then why are you already on a Quest?"

"I'm not sure. I guess the fates just felt like it"

"Aren't you scared?"

"Yes. Very much"

"How do you cope?"

"Nico and Kyla are great friends" I saw the slight deflation in her posture. I think it was because she was hoping that a way to cope would be easier to attain. "You should talk to them. I bet you'll like them."

"Okay" she said. Her eyes suddenly changed to that deep in thought look and her eyebrows furled very slightly.

"Is everything okay?"

Then it disappeared "Yeah, we should get back now."

What was that? "Yeah, let's go" I tightened the last of my bandage and pulled on my shirt. I wondered what she was thinking about as we walked back out of the cave. It was dark out now and Kyla and Nico had built a small fire. I sat down next to Nico and saw that he was deep in thought. His expression was one that I didn't like. He was really worried. I looked at Kyla and she mouthed 'Lauren'. Just then, my ring began to glow blue. I turned invisible and talked to Annabeth "Hey"

"How are you guys?"

"Safe. We found another Demi-God. Her name is Scarlett. Nico is sad about Lauren though."

"Yeah, she is freaking out about him too."

"Ok. Let's let them talk. But first whats going on? Anything new on your end?"

She recounted the events of that day. "Well then. I guess I know what we're gonna do tomorrow. Underworld here we come."

"Yeah. Ok let Nico talk to Lauren."

Without responding, I pulled off my ring and tossed it to Nico. "Someone wants to talk to you" I said

His face lit up right away and he didn't pause to say anything else. He ran off to be alone and put the ring on. He disappeared in mid-stride.

"Who want's to talk to him?" asked Scarlett

"Lauren" said Kyla

"Who's that?"

"The other girl we were separated from. Also Nico's girlfriend."

"Oh" she said. There was the tiniest hint of disappointment on her face, and it was only there for a second, but it was enough to feel like a slap to the face. Not that I wasn't used to it, but still. Kyla also noticed, and while keeping the conversation going so as to not show that we noticed her disappointment, also managed to cast a comforting smile my way.

"So how did you get here?" Kyla asked

"I ran away with my friend. I was on vacation with my mom. She came with us. At one point she got all jittery and told my mom it was time. Long story short, We ran, but got split up. She said something about a prophesy that needed me and a Pan I think. Then she said she had to protect my mom. She promised me that I'd be alright so I kept running. Then that Hydra found me and would have eaten me if you guys hadn't killed it."

I stared at the fire and zoned out. I love fire. I found a twig and put it in the fire. Once it was charcoal, I blew out the small flame at the tip, and started to draw on my arm. Oblivious to the conversation going on right beside me.


	22. Drawings

**ANNABETH'S POV**

Finally some quiet. Lauren took the hat and bolted. She'd been gone for about an hour now. Still talking to Nico. Good thing they didn't need pay as you go minutes. They'd be broke by now. I wonder how Isis feels about this. I hope she doesn't decide to start charging us for this. I looked down at the small fire we built and thought of Percy. I wish there was a way for me to talk to him. At least this time I know that he's safe. I looked down at the beads on my necklace and inspected each one carefully. So many memories were engraved on them. My attention was caught by the one with the Golden Fleece on it. Percy's second year, but the first that we really bonded. Saving someone from eternity as a guinea pig is not something they take lightly.

Just then Lauren walked back and handed me my cap. She had a huge smile plastered on her face. "Hey" she said lightly

"How'd it go?" I asked. Her smile seemed to widen.

"Good"

I smiled as well cause i knew I probably looked the same way when talking about Percy. She sat down and we enjoyed a calm silence under the Caribbean sky. Eventually we just seemed to drift asleep.

**KYLA'S POV**

I looked over at Frodo and noticed his focus on drawing. Oblivious to the conversation now. There was a moment of silence, and I moved a bit closer to Scarlett, who was sitting directly across from Frodo. The crackling fire gave us a bit of privacy, so I decided to learn more about our new addition. "Hey" I whispered. She continued to look deep into the fire for a few more seconds, then turned and gave me a little smile.

"Hey" she whispered back.

"So how's this all sinking in?"

"I'm not entirely sure" she said "good I guess considering the magnitude of what I have to process."

I gave her a smile "I know how you feel"

"So what's this "Camp" I hear about like?"

"It's awesome! There's so many more Demi-Gods like us all there and we have chariot races, war games, and so much more!"

"It sounds nice" she said with a hopeful look in her eyes "How are the guys?" she added with a wink

"Haha there's all sorts, but the ones I know are nice."

"Got your eye on any?" she said playfully. All walls were down now. I could tell she felt more comfortable.

"I might, but you don't know him. I doubt he even knows. But what about you? Have a boyfriend back home?"

"Nope" she said proudly "Haven't needed one."

I looked over at Frodo, knowing that he would be interested to find that out. I just hope she doesn't give him a hard time. But knowing Aphrodite, that wasn't very likely.

"Sorry, to cut this short" said Scarlett "But ive had a long day and I really need to sleep. So goodnight Kyla"

"Good night" I said and walked over to the other side of the fire to where Frodo was still drawing on his fore-arm. "Hey" I said sitting down next to him. "Whatcha drawin" On his right arm was a dragon that curled around his wrist, and on his left wrist, he was drawing a simple symbol. There was a hexagon, and on the right was a line down, and in the middle of that line, at a 90 degree angle, another line.

"It's the symbol of the Isos." I guess he saw my face and realized I didn't know what he meant. "Sorry. It's from a movie that I love."

"Oh" I laughed "and what about this?" I pointed to his right arm.

"I'm not sure where that came from. I just drew it."

I watched as he finished that and moved up his arm and began to outline an owl. He started with the tail and worked up to the head. We sat in silence for a few minutes. Just when I thought he was done, He wrote in big bold letters 'SPQR" and underlined it.

"Where did you see that symbol?" I asked

"Well my dad used to tell me a bit about Roman Mythology too. Being Italian and all. So at camp the first night, I researched it for fun and saw that the roman legions would have this tattoo. I guess I was thinking of him."

Just then Nico came back. "Thanks for letting me use that bro" he smiled and tossed him the ring. Frodo didn't even move his hand to catch it. It simply burst into flames in mid air and disappeared, then burst into flames on his finger and re-appeared. "That's so not fair" he chucked "cheater"

Frodo smiled back at him teasingly "What did you call me?" he asked as his sword grew in his hand.

Nico responded in mock fear "Oh no! Please don't hurt me mister Baggins!"

Frodo got up on all fours and spoke in a raspy Smeagol voice "What is a Bagginses?"

At that, we all broke out in laughter. "Alright precious. Let's get some sleep" said Nico

Within minutes, we were all snoring away.

* * *

**Hey guys! its been a while. sorry for this shorter chapter, I realized that the ending to the last one wasn't so good, plus I wanted to build some bonds too. anyways, I hope you like it so far! please review and follow! stay frosty my friends**


	23. Growls

**I'm back! sorry i haven't uploaded for a while. anyways lets get to it!**

* * *

**FRODO'S POV**

What was that!? My eyes shot open. I swear I heard a growl somewhere very near.

*Grrrrr*

There it was again! This time Nico woke up too and we jumped up in unison drawing our swords. I did a slow 360 spin and searched for the source of the noise. This time it was louder and sounded closer than ever

*GRRRRR*

Something was not right. I looked down and my stomach growled. I looked up at Nico and saw that he was trying to hold a straight face but failed. He burst out in laughter so loud that he woke up the girls and I couldn't help but laugh as well.

"I think the monster is hungry" He said as the girls gave us confused faces. "Let's go feed it"

The girls looked at each other with an expression that obviously said 'boys will be boys' and eventually got up too.

An hour later we were following Mrs. O'Leary as she sniffed around for an entrance to the underworld. She had found a scent and was following it. It went right through the heart of the forest. We walked for half an hour and she stopped. Then Nico took over. He took a knee and placed his hands on the ground. The forest seemed to get darker and more menacing. Shadows swirled and seemed to envelop everything. We could still see the sun, but it was like seeing a picture. It was there, but didn't give off any light. Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, the ground cracked and split right in front of Nico. Out of that crack rose two stone pillars, but what was between them was the scariest by far. It was a portal that led straight into the underworld. Suddenly Nico stood up and all went back to normal. Minus the pillars that had a red fiery entrance to Hades right in front of us. I looked over at Scarlett and she had an expression of pure fear on her face. She was frozen to the spot. All of us were. We were all gawking at what just happened. Even Kyla! But she snapped out of it fast. I slowly raised my hand and placed it on Scarlett's shoulder "Scarlett" I said as she snapped out of it "Are you okay?"

"Yeah" she said "I'm Fine" but she had paled a lot. She was almost as pale as Nico! "Let's go" and she bravely took the first step towards the underworld.

We followed and just as the last one stepped through, the portal closed behind us. No turning back now. We looked around and saw a huge field. and in the middle of that field was a big rock. "We're in the fields of Asphodel" said Nico. "Lets go to the big rock and figure it out from there"

**ANNABETH'S POV**

No turning back now. We were in the middle of the crater surrounded by Hydras. We found the crack in the rock and squeezed though. Immediately we came out the other side and stepped onto a huge field. We didn't have a plan now. we had only planned up to the rock but not past. Thankfully, the first thing we saw, were four people walking towards us. It was the others! Lauren took off at a flat sprint. Nico actually took half a step back when he saw Lauren running up to him. I guess we saw them before they saw us. Too late now. Lauren tackled him and crushed him in a bear hug.

**NICO'S POV**

I didn't realize what hit me till it was too late. Lauren crushed the air out of my lungs in a hug. I was so happy to see her, but catching up would have to wait. Because that's when we heard the growl.


	24. The burning underworld

I looked at Nico and raised my hands in the 'I'm innocent' gesture. "I swear that wasn't my stomach this time" I said. I flinched as my voice cracked.

Annabeth finally got to us "Please tell me that was just my imagination"

Scarlett whimpered and was staring off to the right. We all followed her gaze and realized that the edge of tartarus was a lot closer than we thought. But that's not what she was staring at. Prowling at the edge of the seemingly bottomless fall, was a huge creature that I'd only seen in books. A huge three headed monster that seemed as pissed as can be as a result of being in tartarus for a very long time. Now don't get me wrong, this wasn't Cerberus the three headed dog that guarded the underworld, this monster had a huge lion's head and torso to match, then right in the middle of its spine protruded another head. This one of a goat with a rear set of hooves. If that wasn't enough, its tail was no more friendly. Instead of a spiked tail, of some sickeningly frightful weapon, there was, you guessed it, another head. The tail was at least five feet long, but instead of thinning out, it stayed wide around as my head, and became green and scaly. At the end, the diamond shaped head of a snake. "Ladies and gentlemen" I said absently "I give you, the Chimera. Killed only because it choked on a melted wad of lead in its throat."

"Well then let's choke this bastard all the way back to where he came from" said Nico, suddenly the bravest of our group.

Slowly, we all regained our composure, and readied for battle. Kyla and Scarlett drew their bows while the rest of us drew our weapons. There were a few tense moments as the we had a stare down with the Chimera. I felt time slow down. My heart pounding in my ears. Then the Chimera roared a deep earthshaking roar that snapped us out of our stare down and we ran forward in unison. Kyla started the attack with two quick shots aimed at the Chimera's eyes. Futile of course because of it's lightning fast tail that just snatched them out of the air. We split up, knowing that facing one head at a time was not an option. Before we got close, the Chimera let off three blasts of fire from its tree heads and crouched, ready to pounce. I started off with my shield and sword and decided to take it head on. Big mistake. A blast of fire so hot that it began to melted my shield engulfed me. Immediately I became invisible and rolled to the side so as to get out of the way of another attack. which, followed suit mere seconds after I was out of the line of fire. My sudden disappearance seemed to confuse it for a moment, but only the lion head. The others were still fully engaged in battle. Nico and Lauren were behind the monster, both trying to fend off the striking snake head. Meanwhile, Kyla and Scarlett were firing at the goat head from both sides. I saw an arrow get within inches of it, but it dodged. Apparently, the reflexes of the snake extended to the rest of the body as well. I looked over at Annabeth and saw that the lion's head was occupied with her for the moment. I changed tactics and switched to a throwing knife. I threw it sloppily at the lion head. It bounced off it harmlessly, but if served its purpose of drawing it away from Annabeth. I felt the light tingle as my ring returned to me, and quickly disappeared before it could fully focus on me Annabeth put on her cap as well and I knew I had seconds to talk to her before the lion decided to interest itself with someone else. I poured out my plan and every emotion i was feeling in one burst, and became visible again. I didn't even check to see if Annabeth understood.

**KYLA'S POV**

We didn't have a plan. all of us were engaging the monster, but it didn't even seem to be trying. It was toying with us. Aside from infrequent bursts of fire directed at me or Scarlett, the goat head only dodged and turned its head all the way around, like an owl, and watched the others. It's job, apparently, to be another set of eyes for awareness. Nothing we seemed to be doing affected it. Arrows would bounce harmlessly off its sides, and it dodged everything else. Then something changed. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Frodo and Annabeth charge blindly, both had a shield, but Frodo wasn't wearing his, he had it by the rim. The huge lion head opened its mouth, but before it could breathe it's fire, both Annabeth and Frodo became invisible at the same time. This millisecond of confusion caused it to not breathe fire. Then Annabeth was back. When i saw Frodo, i couldn't believe what I saw. He was sliding on the shield like a sled. He passed right through the huge front paws, and stabbed his sword into the monster from below. It wasn't deep, and really only seemed to anger the Chimera, but it was all we needed. In that moment where it reared up in pain, I shot three arrows in quick succession and saw that Scarlett did likewise. Before it had time to react, arrows smashed into both sides of the goat and pierced it's eyes. In rage, the goat spewed fire in a 360 degree spin. Frodo emerged on the other side with Nico and Lauren, and Scarlett and I ran to the front of the monster to help Annabeth.

**LAUREN'S POV**

This wasn't working! This snake kept coming and it was all we could do to parry it's fangs as it kept striking. Next thing I knew, Frodo popped up in front of us as the Chimera roared and the goat's head blew more fire. Unfortunately, blinding one head did nothing to it's aim. It alternated between spewing jets of tire at us, and the others on the other side. But at least it was blind on its sides.

* * *

**Hey sorry its not done, i decided to post this fight in three parts. once school starts ill get back on track. ttyl!**


	25. Of Goats, Snakes, And Lions

**Hey im so sorry i havent updated in a long time! its been wild with school, and field trips and trying to get a job! anyways heres part 2 of the battle against the Chimera!**

* * *

**SCARLETTE'S POV**

I had no idea what was going on, or even how I wasn't running and whimpering. Something in me made fighting seem so natural. It actually scared me a bit. But I didn't have time for that, right now I had to use the last few arrows I had, and use them well, cause this was turning out to be a losing battle. Every time the lion head opened its mouth, Kyla and I shot arrows into it, but this only seemed to make the whole beast angrier. At least it was distracting the lion head. Annabeth was popping in and out of visibility jabbing at the lion's paws, legs, and anywhere that was in her reach.

Kyla and I were just about to shoot our last arrows when the Lion reared again, snarled and bounded a few hundred feet to our left. Landing in the pounce position.

**FRODO'S POV**

Well, I succeeded in getting it mad, and now it was blind on its sides, but we were no closer to destroying this thing. I got distracted by Lauren and Nico suddenly falling to the ground, and was rewarded by an explosion of pain in my chest as the snakes head plowed into me with the weight of a sledge hammer and the speed of a cobra. I flew a good ten feet and landed painfully on the deep red rocky floor. I struggled for breath. It felt like forever, and my vision was clouding. Just before it went completely, painful, burning breaths rushed into my lungs. I gasped for a minute before painfully getting to my feet. I didn't bother to look at my chest. I was sure there was already a huge bruise and probably some damaged ribs. Thankfully, the battle adrenaline nulled most of the pain as I ran to join the others. I threw throwing knives at the snake to try to distract it so the others could get a good shot. Nothing happened.

I knew I had to do something else while I was in its blind spot. The snake hadn't even noticed me. Probably thought I was done. I took this to my advantage. But I didn't know what to do now. As in response, my ring morphed on its own into a full spear, and my brain clicked into the pattern which the Goat was turning. Well great. I know what I have to do, but I was never trained with a spear. I didn't have time to contemplate this, so I just wound up, took a half step and twisted through, praying to every God I could think of for that spear to fly true. I guess the Gods didn't feel like listening because I overshot terribly. The spear flew harmlessly over the beast. Deflated, I didn't know what to do next. But my ring had other plans. The spear appeared once again in my hand, but the tip seemed to be heavier this time. Now I understood. Instinctively, I ran, holding the spear upside down over my head as if I wanted to ram the beast. At the last minute, I jammed the head of the spear into the ground and vaulted up onto its back. This caught the beast off guard, and the Goat head swiveled towards me. I saw its throat constrict, ready to blast me with its fire, but I moved faster. I took my spear and rammed it with all my force right into the goat mouth. Its pierced eyes widened as I felt the spine crack and and sever under the force of the spear.

Once again, the monster reared, but I was ready. I clutched the spear in my hands and was shaken, but I remained on the monster's back. I took my dagger and slid down the monsters back, the dagger slashing into the hard flesh and slowing my descent. I looked down and saw that Lauren and Nico took this confusion as an opportunity. Lauren ran straight at the snake. What was she doing! Does she have a death wish? I was shocked, yet it seemed to work because the snake, seeming in pain, didn't strike with speed this time. It was slower. It's intention to bite Lauren obvious. Nico flanked it just as it went in for the bite. Its mouth open and closing fast. Lauren was ready. She thrust out her arm holding the her sword straight up as she leaped back. The speed of the snakes closing mouth was its own bane because Lauren's sword, already in its mouth was the only thing it got to bite down on. The closing mouth pushing the tip up and through the head of the snake. As the sword broke out of the skull, the whole beast shuddered and Nico sprung forward and with all his might, brought his sword down at the base of its skull, cutting the head clean off. as he did so, the beast roared and took a huge leap to our right. The cheer that I was about to let loose died in my throat when I saw Lauren. her face was ghostly white and she stood completely still, staring at the head impaled on her sword. Or more accurately, it's teeth. One of the curved bottom fangs of the snake, tainted red with blood, protruded from her arm. The rest of the head slowly disintegrated till all that was left was a long white fang going clean through her arm.

**KYLA'S POV**

That's when I saw why the monster got a better vantage point. The snake head was missing and the goat head hung to the side. Then I saw Lauren. She grasped at something in her arm and pulled. I heard her scream as a big fang was extricated from her arm. Blood flowed freely from the wound, but Nico had already taken off his shirt and bound the wound. She screamed again as Nico tightened the makeshift bandage and I saw the pain in her eyes blurred by tears. Out of nowhere, Frodo dove in front of them and pushed them into a crouch. In the same instant, his shield grew on his arm just in time to protect the three of them from the huge blast of fire that would have burned them to a crisp. The lion had no time for sentiment. He just wanted his meal.

* * *

**Hey guys! again im so sorry i havent updated in a while but i promise i will soon! **


	26. The Fire-breathing Lion

**Wow im so sorry its been so long! there's been so much going on but im back!**

* * *

**NICO'S POV**

"Split up!" yelled Frodo

They all dove to the side as another blast of fire melted the rocks where they stood moments ago. Wow. That was some hot fire. If it could melt rock-

"I got it!" I yelped with triumph "Frodo come here!"

Instantly, as a unit, the others scattered to distract the Chimera. Yelling and taunting to keep its attention off of Frodo and I.

**SCARLETT'S POV**

Moments after Frodo and Nico convened, they were running at the Chimera. All of us suddenly stopped to watch dumbfounded as Frodo snatched Annabeth's cap and disappeared. To our astonishment, Nico disappeared mid stride as well! Even the Chimera hesitated at this, but snapped back into action just seconds later. But the few seconds was enough for Nico and Frodo. Frodo suddenly appeared, shield in hand, a few feet in front of the Lion head. The Lion recoiled momentarily at the sudden apparition, but just watched as Nico appeared, sprinting towards Frodo. We watched without a clue as to what was about to happen. Time seemed to slow down as Nico leaped toward Frodo. His feet came down on Frodo's shield. Frodo coiled like a spring. I watched Nico tense like a cat about to pounce. His legs flexing with anticipation of his next move, his glistening six-pack abs, a reflection of his hours of training, curling him to a crouch. Then all at once he shot up. Frodo stood, lifting the shield like a springboard, and Nico straightened and flew through the air; A serious look on his face that stopped at the eyes. In them was a steely look of pure anger. Suddenly I remembered cartoons I used to watch where, also in slow motion, the Hero would fly at the bad guy with the same look on his face, the same perfect body, the same blown back hair, and dealt the final blow. Nico soared at the lion, feet first. The lion simply opened it's mouth wide. A scream ringed out piercingly clear. I couldn't tell if it came from me or not. The Lion was gonna swallow him whole!

**ANNABETH'S POV**

****Suddenly things took a different turn. Nico reached down and from his hand, began to grow a bronze shield. It grew to full size just as Nico reached the Lion's maw, and with all his might, Nico stomped the shield as far into the mouth as he could. The lion's eyes bugged out at this sudden change of events. It tried to roar but was incapable, and in a fit of shaking its head and flailing, started to back up as it tried to blow fire, but just managed to choked itself on the melting metal sliding down it's throat. As if freed from a trance, we all ran up to Nico, to congratulate him. Scarlett was the first to reach him and caught him off guard with a huge embrace and a kiss on the cheek. It was nothing more than a peck, but instantly she realized her mistake an blushed, turning away. I looked over to Lauren, who was almost comically being restrained by Kyla, her hands balled into fists. It was only for a moment though, as she composed herself and was released to join the others in congratulating Nico on his plan.

I couldn't tell why Frodo had paled and drawn his knife. Suddenly he was running. I couldn't tell why until I turned around. The lion was stalking back towards us, It's mouth dripping celestial Bronze. Before anyone could stop him, Frodo had thrown his knife at the Lion head and turned at a dead sprint. The Chimera followed and I realized with terror where Frodo was going. He spun around as he reached the edge of the pit to Tartarus. With one last look at us, his face morphed into one that was almost scary to see. The look in his eyes was one so full of fire and determination that it rivaled Ares'. His mouth curled into a sneer and he drew his knife.

**KYLA'S POV**

Frodo Arced the blade over his head and we watched as it flew end over end. The Chimera was at a full charge now, and without seeing the small blade, ran head first into it and let out something between a roar and a whimper as it planted itself hilt deep in it's eye. Even more angered, I all thought the Chimera would continue it's charge, but that wasn't so. It slowed its pace, and when Frodo dived to the side, obviously planning to pull a bullfighting move and sidestep as the Chimera ran over the edge, the Chimera swatted at him, claws fully extended. I couldn't look away as red trailed behind him like a comet's tail. It was dead silent as Frodo sailed through the air. All I heard was the sickening crunch as he hit the ground and I flinched as he rolled to a stop. I looked over to the Chimera, but it was gone! Only deep gouges in the ground where it's claws had tried to stop the momentum. It worked after all! But there was no time to celebrate. Nobody could even move because of the shock. I don't know why, we had all been in battles before, but for some reason, none of us could bring ourselves to move. Except for Nico. He was already cradling Frodo's head, praying to his father and the fates to not take him.


End file.
